Archive for October, 2006

I think one of the greatest barriers that small business owners find in getting media exposure, is trying to determine what angle they can use to get publicity…

Well, the first tip is to think about your business from both your target market’s point of view as well as a journalist’s point of view.

Firstly consider what type of information will appeal to your target audience – perhaps a new product range, a new service delivery method, a new shop has opened…

And then from a journalist’s perspective, what is going to make this newsy? Well, it’s the story behind the new business development (eg, you’re the first to carry/produce the new product range, you developed a new service idea based on many years of frustration etc).

So your media angle is not the fact that you have a new product range, it’s the fact that you are the first to have it, you travelled India (or somewhere unusual??) to source it, you designed it, you now have the most extensive range of the product in the country/state/local area …

Do you see the hook? The journalistic hook is the point of interest behind the business improvement rather than the business improvement itself. Are you with me?

If you’ve got any questions, send me an email or a comment – perhaps I can find a hook for your business…

Like this:

One of Camberwell junction’s most famous shops, The Chocolate Box re-opened this week having been given its sixth facelift during its 48 years of continuous service.

Established as a single shopfront by Czechoslovakian and German immigrants Richard and Rose Adler, The Chocolate Box’s significance has grown steadily over time and is now an icon having served three generations of local families and shoppers.

The new-look flagship store in Burke Road features more than 2000 different chocolate and sweet products in its range.

According to Marion Adler Bishop, daughter of the original owners and now co-owner with her brother Gary Adler, The Chocolate Box has an embedded place in Camberwell’s retail history and the staff is looking forward to reacquainting themselves with the locals after a 12-week absence.

“Our Camberwell store manager, Ms Kay Thurston has been with us for more than 20 years and she knows many of the customers by name as well as their favourite chocolate indulgences,” said Ms Adler Bishop.

“That’s all part of our history at Camberwell, we’ve been there for so long that we’re actually part of the community,” she said.

The Chocolate Box has eight stores in and around Melbourne – two in Collins Street in the CBD, two at the Melbourne Airport and one each at Crown Casino, Eastland and Malvern as well as the flagship store at Camberwell.

In terms of getting your information on the news, the first step is to to send your media alert (I use email) to the news room – to get the email address, simply ring the station (phone numbers of each are in the White Pages) and ask the receptionist for the news room’s/chief-of-staff’s email address.

Now if you’d like your story covered by one of the other shows, there are a couple more steps involved…

1. Watch the show on which you’d like publicity and become familiar with the types of stories they cover and the angles they take (this is really important before making any approach)

2. At the end of the show, when the credits are rolling, check-out who the producers are and make a note of their name/s (you may need to record the show and/or credits – or do a speed reading course!!!)

3. Make sure your story fits the model of the show – if it doesn’t quite suit, adapt your information so that it does (I’m not saying to lie here – I’m suggesting that you tweak your angle to suit the show)

4. Now ring the station and ask to speak with the producer whose name you’ve noted (if you don’t have a producer’s name, don’t worry, just ask to be put through to a producer for the show you’re interested in)

5. Having prepared a couple of succinct ‘selling’ points about your story, speak to the producer and let them know about your news and why it might be interesting to their audience. Even if they’re not interested immediately (expect this!) ask them for the correct spelling of their name if you don’t have it and their email address

6. Send the media alert to the producer with a personalised message and again, try to sell your story into the show

7. Ring the producer again and see what their thoughts are about your story. If you feel uncomfortable doing this, then at the very least, send through a follow-up email

In a seven-step nutshell, that’s how you approach TV publicity. This is not an exhaustive how-to list but hopefully will provide you with enough information to get you started and move on from the fear factor.